Representative (Consumer) Collective Redress Decisions in the EU: Free Movement or Public Policy Obstacles?

Abstract

and in the concrete case. However, a dividing line appears to be the choice between opt-in and opt-out procedures. Such is not the result of an outright refusal of the principle of opt-out procedures but because of the fact that certain procedural rights can be less easily safeguarded in an opt-out procedure than in an opt-in procedure. It appears from the Belgian and Dutch decisions that particular attention will be paid in this regard to the scope and the content of the notification measures, thereby including informal notification measures undertaken by the representative or other interested parties, as well as spontaneous coverage in the news media. More than anything else, it appears thus that adequate notification is the most important safeguard to guarantee the right to a fair trial of putative group members.